Each week during the season, we look at the big events and big games around Division I men’s college hockey in Tuesday Morning Quarterback.
Paula: Jimmy, it seems like every time I begin a TMQ column with a colleague, I’m starting with the Big Ten, but it also feels like B1G Hockey is attracting attention for solid play on the ice and developments adjacent to the game itself.
Minnesota’s sweep of Michigan comes with the side story of an outbreak of adenovirus on the Michigan campus that sickened many players on the team and hospitalized defenseman Steven Holtz.
Michigan State, picked in the coaches’ preseason poll to finish last, is one point behind Minnesota in the B1G standings after splitting with Penn State, and that is a story all on its own.
Today, though, Michigan State senior forward Jagger Joshua tweeted out a statement about repeatedly having been on the receiving end of a racial slur in the Spartans’ 4-3 home win over Ohio State Nov. 11. Incidentally, the Spartans swept that series in Columbus.
Acts of racism do not belong in hockey.. pic.twitter.com/nm9AnIjSgV
— Jagger Joshua (@jaggerjoshua8) November 21, 2022
You know that I have difficulty separating the off-ice culture from the game itself, because I do believe that context affects everything.
What do you make of weeks like this, when teams full of young people are grappling with such big-picture, real-world issues that affect them so personally?
Jim: I think I have a difficult time judging anything for which I wasn’t present.
I will say that I, as should all involved in the game of hockey, condemn any type of racially motivated conduct. So I think what happened in the Michigan State-Ohio State wasn’t just inappropriate, it was reprehensible.
In other Big Ten completion, I think no matter what context, you almost have to tip your cap to Minnesota, which earned a two-game sweep on the road in what became a weird battle of attrition.
That said, this was a week of splits everywhere, particularly among ranked teams.
There was just one team that stood out to me and that was Quinnipiac, which swept Princeton in a two-game series against its ECAC travel partner.
I understand that doesn’t exactly ring bells around the college hockey world. In fact, the Bobcats move just one spot up in the USCHO poll, from fifth to fourth.
But given the fact you van only win the games on your schedule. Is Quinnipiac one of the best, considering how well they have played in the games they have been given?
Paula: Minnesota earns a huge hat tip for that sweep. Bob Motzko told me last week that Big Ten teams are going to each other alive this season — I’m paraphrasing — so the Gophers know that every point is important. Road sweeps are tough in any league.
As for Quinnipiac, any team with one loss a dozen games in deserves to turn some heads. The Bobcats’ offense is solid and their defense even more so. Neither 4-1 win over the Tigers was ever in doubt. Their tie against and win over North Dakota on the road was an impressive early nonconference feat, and they’re undefeated in ECAC play.
The short answer to your questions is yes, any team that takes care of the business it has at hand is formidable. The longer answer is that I’m looking forward to the Friendship Four to see the Bobcats tested, as well as Quinnipiac’s games against a very good Harvard team — to gauge both the Bobcats and the Crimson. I think they may be one of the best teams in the country — and I have them in my top five on my ballot — but I always need to see ECAC teams over a bit more time in part because the Ivies start late.
Ask me that question in January, Jimmy.
Speaking of North Dakota, the Fighting Hawks dropped out of the poll after their split with Miami. Looking at the NCHC standings, only the top three teams — Denver, Western Michigan, and St. Cloud — have conference and win percentages over .500. What is up (or down) with the NCHC this season?
Jim: First off, I’m not dodging the chance to speak of the Friendship Four, as my close friend Robert Fitzpatrick, the CEO of Odyssey Trust in Belfast, who runs the tournament, would be disappointed.
What a field they have assembled in Belfast for Friday with UMass Lowell, UMass, Quinnipiac and the only unranked team, Dartmouth. No one would be shocked if the Big Green won the Belpot.
Going back to the other green, North Dakota, the Fighting Hawks haven’t shown much and a loss to Miami on Saturday did little to sway me.
The NCHC in general isn’t the dominant conference they were the last few years, which is okay, Maybe not to the NCHC schools and its league office but to the world of college hockey. Change feels abound. And that’s a good thing to me.
Paula: Change is good for college hockey. Once upon a time, change felt like the only constant, but in the past few years, the dominance by a few programs and conferences has led to some boring overall hockey — and I mean no disrespect to the programs and conferences that have dominated. I know how difficult it is to win a championship, to remain consistently at the top of your conference, and to dominate across D-I hockey.
But new names in the mix and some fresh faces make things more interesting in a bigger way, helping to grow and sustain interest in the sport. Because of their 10-2-0 start to the season, I’m definitely paying attention to RIT, whose seven-game win streak technically remains intact after their 4-1 loss to the U.S. National Development Team Saturday. The Tigers are inching up in the PairWise (yes, I know it’s early), but after the near-complete dominance of AIC in Atlantic Hockey the past few seasons, it’s fun to watch.
Watching Minnesota State get some competition in the CCHA is also fun. The Mavericks had a four-game win streak snapped Friday at home in overtime by Northern Michigan. Northern is 4-2-0 in its last six and now four points separate first-place Bowling Green from fourth-place NMU at the top of the CCHA standings, with Minnesota State and Michigan Tech rounding out the top four and nothing but a single point between each team. Now that’s old time CCHA hockey.
Do you think, Jim, that the interesting hockey that we’ve seen before Thanksgiving promises an exciting second half, or is it simply too soon to tell?
Jim: Personally, I love upside-down (-ish?) standings.
Let’s see: RIT and Sacred Heart are above AIC in the AHA.
Minnesota might be the top of the B1G but Michigan State and Penn State are the two teams that are lurking.
Minnesota State is still atop of the CCHA despite trailing Bowling Green and barely leading Michigan Tech. Winning percentage heavily favors the Mavericks, but let’s not sleep on either the Falcons or the Huskies.
While Quinnipiac and Harvard seem poised to run away with the ECAC, check back in with me in March. No one runs away with that conference.
Hockey East is where my interests lie with Connecticut at the top and a decent gap even with games in hand. The second half will define this season for the Huskies.
And lastly there is the nacho – the NCHC. Flip a coin, honestly. I love Denver, but this season is long, and these teams will crush one another. Who knows which team finishes where, because it is a battle of cannibals. She drives me crazy, right?
